Will We Demo Walls Of Separation And Build Our Identity With Christ In A Living Temple?
Good Morning Friends,
Given our polarized political environment in the United States it is difficult to speak to the issues in a way that does not offend. It is a problem. So too on a more personal basis is the issue of self-worth. One in six students contemplate suicide. The thing is that all of these problems are related to a deeper core issue. We do not know who or whose we are. We do not fully know our purpose as priest suffering on the alters of the world. Like the ice berg 90% or our identity is below the surface. And if we claim to be comfortable with who we are we may just be fooling ourselves. Indeed, if we are comfortable in our skin in all situations it might be because we are changing who we are in each situation. And this is a clear indication we do not know who we really are. Here it is important to realize that Christ makes us worthy and Christ gives us an identity. Realizing this helps in changing behaviors that are unhealthy. But that does not make it easy. Everyone has something that they should change and if they deny that they are either a liar or lack self-awareness. Here we might gain insight that the root of the problem is no so much the behavior but our identity as it relates to the behavior. As we read today’s scripture it is helpful to realize that for the Jews of Jesus’ time the Temple was the Center of their identity. But when the letter of Peter was written is was becoming clearer that the Temple might well be destroyed and a new one in need of being rebuilt in a new way in just three days. So today we contemplate our own salvation and sacrifices as a New Body, As a Following Flock and as a Priest of Encouragement as we ask: Will We Demo Walls Of Separation And Build Our Identity With Christ In A Living Temple?
Scripture: Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
1 Peter 2: 1-25 (NRSV)
He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Luke 19:40 (NRSV)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NRSV)
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Mark 6:3 (NRSV)
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
John 2:19 (NRSV)
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
Psalm 116:15 (NRSV)
Message: Today we continue our study of 1 Peter.
And some of the language just gets my mind to imagine the deeper story about real hope that comes when we build character with an identity in the Body of Christ. And the first question I had having read it was why Peter wrote to follow the rule of Nero and then did the exact opposite which got himself killed. But then I also realize that Peter wrote about imitating Christ paraphrasing from Isaiah 53 what he had seen with his own eyes and perhaps imagining his own sacrifice like Christ’s in a new Temple. Peter has undoubtedly seen Jesus grow up as the son of a builder. Allow me a quick diversion here that I hope to weave back into the core message related to today’s scripture. There are some things of history that are left to conjecture. For example, we know from scripture that Joseph was what is translated as a carpenter. But the Greek word is Teckton and it means builder. Now, some say therefor that Jesus worked with wood; building tools, doors, shelves, tables and chairs as a carpenter. Others say because of the region and the resources where he worked, he built from rock, such things as millstones, winepresses, houses, and beams as a stonemason. There is no real evidence to clarify exactly what Joseph was a builder of, but we know that he was a Teckton and that the Jewish culture of that time required of the father to teach the son their trade at age 12. Joseph being very Jewish would have adhered to this practice and began teaching Jesus at 12 his trade of being a builder. Given that Israel’s buildings were constructed of stones and rocks, Jesus likely would have worked as a stonemason although he could have been a carpenter too. He may well have spent hours helping his father shape and cut stones. All this is a bit of a speculation, but I do like the idea of Jesus, not only being the cornerstone, but having made them for a living. So, on this morning I want you to think about a church building. Not the physical building where you worship which is composed of wood and stone, but the building of God, the church of our Lord that is composed of living stones. The New Testament uses a number of different descriptive images to show us what the called-out Body of Believers is like. For example, it is described as a family into which we are born again with God as our Father and many brothers and sisters in the faith. The church is also described as a kingdom wherein we are citizens, with Jesus Christ ruling as our king, to whom we have an obligation to be completely submissive. Other scriptures talk about the church as a body emphasizing both unity and diversity, each of us performing different roles with Jesus Christ as our head. But in addition, we are also stones of God’s house and have value as part of something larger than ourselves. We are the Temple and priests of the Temple. And in that Temple, because we have special direct access to God, we are to serve as priests offering up spiritual sacrifices of our very bodies. In all this we gain a spiritual identity. In all this we remember whose we are. The wonderful thing is that although men rejected Jesus, we have not been rejected by God. On the rock-hard foundation of Jesus and His love, our lives can be gathered together as living stones and be built into a strong fortress… a spiritual house that will withstand the assaults of this age. In the authority of Christ manifested in the unity of the body of believers in the Holy Spirit…with God we can build a little of heaven on earth and help others be birthed into this reality. Jesus Christ takes every part, every stone, and knocks off the rough edges, chiseling a piece here, sanding a piece there, smoothing it out, getting it ready, building it in, fitting it into place in his building as he cuts it precisely to fit snugly and beautifully with every other part. And when Jesus is done, there is nothing out of place. There are no defective or inappropriate pieces. It all works together for good when we love. And together we hopefully form a building. Not just any building, but a temple. That is what we are to be building…. a place of worship in ourselves and in the world. The Bible has a lot of references to rocks and buildings and measuring things.
So, when we look at how we measure up, when we use God’s plumb line of love and faith to build a firm foundation for our life, when we have Christ as the cornerstone… how we use things of worldly value becomes a test of our character…a test of how we measure up to His standard. The plumb line becomes the Word made flesh in the life of Jesus and we have to choose to follow a straight path…we must choose Jesus…all other paths lead to destruction. Jesus is the standard of measurement. Jesus is the tested cornerstone of the building blocks of life. But while Christ is the cornerstone of God’s temple, he is not the whole building. God is building his house out of you and me. It is no wonder he calls us stones instead of bricks. Bricks are all the same shape, size, and color. No two stones are alike, however, not even stones cut from the same rock. God delights in this variety. He enjoys bringing us together to become a dazzling mosaic for his glory. Here we as Christians can provide random acts of kindness to counter the random acts of violence in this world. Here the gifts we have been given by God can be used for the benefit of Jews and Gentiles alike. Friends, you may feel like another brick in the wall. At times you may fee thick as a brick. But you are not a brick. You are a living stone. Maybe the reason things have changed is that we really are not bricks at all. We are not all alike. We are stones…living stones in need of a good foundation designed to use our individuality. The challenge is that we need to be united and held together on the journey. Now many people feel that their own goodness can be the foundation of their salvation…and yes love covers a multitude of sins but even our goodness is not enough to keep us together. According to the Bible, that is like building a house on sand.
And So, Peter in today’s scripture reminds us that Jesus is not just another brick in the wall. He is not just another path up the summit of salvation. Christ is the cornerstone, the only foundation that will lift us up to bring a little more each day of heaven to earth. It is interesting though that Peter ends this chapter not with the image of a building but instead points us to the need for our submission to the power of the uniting force of the Shepherd over the flock and of the flock over the flock through relationship with the Shepherd that keeps behavior proper even though there is no visible restraint in place. God has torn down the wall between Jews and Gentile, the wall between the inner and outer court of the Temple and opened the door for the Holy Spirit so we can get a fresh start in Him and His love and joy. Jesus hits the ball out of the infield and beyond the outfield and over the wall changing everything. And then that emotional wall came down. And we belong here in this sacred moment and place God calls home…yes, this place of joy. And so, Christ has brought us together in a different field of play so we like the sheep may dwell in this pasture without walls…dwell in the relationships that teach us how to behave, how to truly live in the unity found only in Christ. Likewise, the wall is torn down so that God can build His home in us living stone by living stone. The apostles and the prophets are the foundation and God is fitting us all into place with Christ as the Cornerstone that holds it all together. God can call this place home. We too can call it home. It keeps us from straying. Here we are as a flock of sheep on a hill side not restrained by the divisive force of a wall but united in Jesus by the attraction of His home run in us. And we will rest in this place and, if we stray for a time, we will return to this place the Shepherd has appointed for us. Because we have been taught from one generation to another this way to live…because the teaching is united in Jesus, we need tear down those things that obstruct our relationship with God not just alone but together. Alone we are blind and prejudiced we are not ok. We are messed up. Our feelings are not in sync with God’s word and each and every day we have to keep working getting us chiseled to the truth. And as priests, even though we are messed up, we are still to help tell people the Gospel from a heart of love and service. We are to help others in their own birth. That is who we are to be as Christians. Our hope is in Christ alone as the cornerstone for a new identity we are to face together. Our hope is in the Good Shepherd. Friends, the Holy Spirit has a work to do with us, but we have work to do too. And it is not a shallow hope, but a deep hope born out of the dire straits of facing death itself. It draws us in as part of something bigger and better than our pathetic emotional state when we are left to our own devices taking charge of our lives when the reality is that we are off the path way too often. Scripture describes Jesus as the Good Shepherd who brings us together so we may dwell in his pasture without walls…dwell in the relationships that teach us how to behave, how to truly live in the unity found only in Christ. Likewise, the wall is torn down so that God can build His home in us with its stones…. living stones. The foundation is our faith and God’s grace and God is fitting us each into a place of love, stone by stone with Christ as the Cornerstone that holds it all together. God can call this place home the place of the heart. We too can call it home for it is a place of comfort and growth and deep hope in the face of despair and death. It keeps us from straying. Here we are as a flock of sheep on a hill side not restrained by the divisive force of a wall but united in Jesus by the attraction of His home…His Temple in us. And we will rest in this place and, if we stray for a time, we will return to this place the Shepherd has appointed for us. Because we have been taught from one generation to another this way to live…because the teaching is united in Jesus dwelling in a body of believers. Here is a submission to the power of the Shepherd over the flock and the connection of God’s special love manifested in our experience of Christ. This is a very special love… a peace that passes understanding… a mystery of how God takes down the walls that separate us from Him and the walls that separate us from each other and uses the brokenness of our lives to build a temple and a home in us. The paradox is that Christ is both giver and gift. Christ is both the bread and the body. And God is our Redeemer, Creator and Sustainer. Jesus is the Priest and so too are we.
Pray we realize that Christ is both Shepherd and Builder.
Pray we treasure Christ above all things and in all the ways he manifests his presence in our lives. Pray that in this identity with Christ we are built into a house of prayer, power and praise. Pray we are built into a Temple of God’s presence that loves and obeys and helps others on the journey. Pray we realize that we have been redeemed for a purpose. Pray we realize we have been broken so we might serve in the rebuilding. Pray that in the taking, breaking, blessings and giving we are built into a body that glorifies God. Pray we work at rebuilding the called-out assembly as living stones built on the Cornerstone of Christ. Pray we realize that someday Christ will come again, and the world will be shaken to its very foundation. Pray in preparation that Christ be our solid Rock. Pray our prayers and praise break down needless walls so that God’s purposes can be achieved between people and organizations. Pray that we grow strong as a community of believers. Pray that we as precious living stones be built on the solid rock of Christ. Pray that Jesus be the cornerstone of those called out. Pray that we be unified in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray we be as living stones built on the Cornerstone of Christ and become a temple for God’s Spirit and a priesthood in service to one another. Pray we offer our bodies as living sacrifices through our actions and resources as an act of worship. Pray in the great mystery of it all that we are honed to build up one another with the bond of Christ’s perfection.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 